The current tendency in the subject of motor vehicles, whether an automobile, a utility vehicle, a lorry or a bus is concerned, is to propose more and more glazed surfaces. Thus, in particular, vehicles have been proposed which have a roof equipped with one or more glazed elements. In certain cases, the whole of the roof is made of glass or of a similar material, allowing the rays of the sun to pass.
So as to increase the window space, moreover, attempts have been made to propose large-sized glazed surfaces, whilst minimizing the number of glazed panels of the roof.
One has likewise had to take into account the fact that these glazed surfaces must be integrated in the roofs of current or future vehicles which have stream-lined shapes and are generally not flat and are more often incurvated or curved in the widthwise direction and likewise occasionally in the lengthwise direction.
Furthermore, solutions have been proposed for clearing openings in the roof, in particular so as to be able to form an opening roof module.
Thus, a technique which is currently prevalent for the opening and closing of the roof panes, and particularly “opening roof” panes uses half-opening movable panes, mounted on a frame and being able to tilt about an axis integral with the plane of the roof, to provide a reduced opening of the pane, generally small in size.
This technique presents the disadvantage of only allowing a partial freeing of the opening coinciding with the surface of the pane when the latter is reclosed.
Another opening roof technique which is likewise used in a conventional manner consists in making the pane movable above or below the roof in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the roof. Thus, a first technique is known of a roof opened by an opening being able to be covered by a sliding glazed panel housed in the fittings of the roof. A disadvantage of this technique is that the dimensions of the openings in the roof, and consecutively of the glazed surfaces allowing them to be covered, are limited.
In the case where this approach is taken for glazed surfaces covering the width of a roof, it has been proposed to slide the edges of the pane in guide rails arranged along the frames of the roof.
It has likewise been proposed to slide the movable pane at least partially along the rear window or to make the movable pane penetrate or leave a specific housing situated, for example, in the upholstery of the roof to increase the opening area in the roof.
However, this technique presents numerous disadvantages.
Thus, this technique of guiding the edges of the pane prescribes that the edges of the glazed panel guided in rails are parallel, or in other words, a rectilinear guiding, to avoid non-aesthetic apertures which could appear between the guided edges of the pane and the roof. Numerous adaptations result from this, to secure the sliding pane to the body, whilst following the longitudinal profile, generally curved, of the roof and in particular to conceal, by placing additional caches, the means for guiding, actuating and entraining, which reduces the glazed surface of the roof.
Moreover, from the aesthetic point of view, this technique does not allow a smooth appearance to be obtained, viewed from the exterior, flush with the body, in the presence of a guide frame of the movable pane.
Furthermore, the means for guiding, actuating and entraining of the movable pane are heavy, cumbersome and complicated to mount. It is therefore necessary to provide a housing volume as a result, prejudicing the available volume inside the vehicle, if the movable pane slides inside the vehicle.
In addition, they have a high manufacturing cost and conventionally pose problems with regard to tightness. Mounting on the vehicle, and maintenance, are equally complex. Furthermore, they impose constraints from the point of view of ergonomics.